When you have children, it is natural to want the best for them. Some people like to think that their children will be literary stars, crafting tightly knitted prose before they outgrow their Velcro shoes. Other people like to think of their kids as being the next great football player.
The way to find out if your child does have any inclination to do one specialty over another is to introduce them to as many things that they can try as possible.
This leads us to music. Unlike many activities, music is fundamental to your child’s development – the sometimes nonrhythmic banging of a spoon against any surface, the delight when listening to traffic rumbling past. All of these things (and other instances) can indicate a musical inclination.
Violin lessons are an excellent way to bring your child into the world of music. Taking a violin lesson exercises the mind, whilst being very beneficial to eye/hand coordination. The question is at what age should you enroll your child in their first violin lesson?
Many people believe that as soon as the child is able to hold an instrument, the it’s time to bundle them off to classes. There is a large amount of truth in this statement, as the sooner your child is on the path to learning, the sooner they can become proficient and show talent. Many children start violin lessons for beginners at the tender age of 5 years old. Do not expect them to become virtuosos within 2 years by doing this. Things such as being able to hold the instrument properly, learning fine motor control (moving the fingers across the violin strings in a certain pattern), and even coordinating breathing with moving the bow are all things that your child will learn.
These skills will have a demonstrable effect outside of the violin lessons. It is quite possible that you will see your child developing at a faster rate than other children learning new skills at this age, enables the brain to form new pathways. By doing this, even if the child ends up not continuing with the violin, they will have accrued a valuable skill set, usable in other day-to-day activities.
After the decision has been made to begin violin lessons, the next step is to think about where to start. Do you buy your child all of the necessary accoutrements (violin, bow, resin, chin rest, music stand etc), or do you have them turn up to the lesson and hope that the teacher has a violin for them?
There is a school of thought that says it is better for a young child to start learning at home, having a comfortable environment in which to learn. Try not to forget, a 30 minute lesson is going to seem seriously long to a small child, so being in a place that they recognize is going to stress them a lot less.
There are plenty of instructional DVD’s available, but think also on enrolling in online violin lessons. You can find a lot of violin lessons for beginners online, and this way, if you have a laptop, you can take the computer with you into any room of the house – as and when needed (Using the television means same place, whether you or your child like it, or not).
Free violin lessons are also something to consider, a lot of the time (especially for children), these go hand in hand with the web – in the form of videos mostly. This way you can gauge the response of your little one to seeing things done, played and explained. There is every possibility that there will be times when your 5 year old just is not in the mood to settle down and practice – take each day as it comes when dealing with this.
One of the most important things to remember when thinking about having your child begin violin lessons is to realize that you are making a large time and patience commitment, but so is your child. You will be either taking them to and from lessons, or sitting with them as they learn new things at home. You will have to regiment their time so that enough practice will be done to make the lessons effective. You will also have to listen to the notes that will be coming out of the instrument! If you are happy with all of these points, and understand the upside as well as any downside, then the next step is to start your child on the path of musical discovery. Good luck!